It’s the summer of 1948, and I’m stuck in this damp, miserable house with Aunt Spiker and Aunt Sponge. They’ve made my life a nightmare ever since my parents were taken from me. But tonight, everything changes.

I’m crouched beneath the peach tree, heart pounding, as the old man’s words echo in my head: 'These will give you what you’ve always wanted.' I pour the glowing crocodile tongues into the soil, and the ground trembles. The tree groans, and slowly, impossibly, a single peach begins to swell—bigger, brighter, pulsing with light.

I crawl inside through a small opening, and there they are—six giant insects, waiting. 'Well, well,' says Centipede, tipping his hat. 'Looks like our ticket out of here just arrived.'

The stem cracks. The peach rolls. We’re falling, flying, rising—into the sky, over the sea. I don’t know where we’re going, but for the first time, I feel free.

Now, as the ocean stretches below and the stars shine above, I have to decide: do I let fear take over, or do I trust this strange new family and see where the wind takes us?